Improvement in steam-regulating valves



UNITED STATES PATENT rronf JOSEPH E. WATTS, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-REGULATING VALVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,153, dated January 6, 1874 application iiled September 6, 1873.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. WATTS, of Lawrence, Essex coimty and State of Massa-` ch usetts, have invented certain Improvements in Steam-Regulating Valves, of which the following is a speciiication:

These improvements are based upon steamvalves which automatically govern the supply of steam according to the requirements of the occasion or the amount of labor being done, or to be done, by the machinery which is driven by such steam, the class of valves to which my improvements have especial reference being those in which Vthe stem of the 'y valve (the latter being a balanced valve) is supported upon an elastic diaphragm, and connected with an adjustable lever, which, in Iturn, is acted upon by the mechanism driven by the steam passing through the valve, in siich manner that, as the said machinery ceases its operations or performs a greater or less amount of labor, the valve operates in consonance ftherewith, and opens or closes according to the ynecessities of the machinery. These improvements consist, first, in such a construction of the condense-water well or pipe that -the back pressure of steam upon the water surrounding the diaphragm shall be lessened to such an extent as to result in no injury to such diaphragm; and I effect this vobject by placing a shelf 0r partition in the lower part of the well, and above the diaphragm, and creating in this shelf one or more contracted holes or openings, of a size sufficient to allow the steam to exert a pressure upon the valve through the medium of the water, and yet sufficiently attenuated to retard passage of steam, and lessen the sudden concussions or thrusts which are constantly taking place. Heretofore the condense-water well or tube has been unobstructedthat is Vto say, has been otl uniform area, or practically so, throughoutso that any and all changes in back pressure of the steam upon the condense-water are imparted immediately and directly to the diaphragm with injurious consequences, as fracture of the diaphragm often takes place from this cause. Second, these improvements consist in the employment 0f an auxiliary or additional lever, pivoted to and carried bythe primary lever, which governs the movements y of the valve, the said auxiliary lever being pivoted at its base to the bore of the primary l lever, and formed or provided with a standard or post, so disposed in relation to the various parts of the valve, and the beltshipper ofthe machinery with which the valve is used, that, upon stoppage of such machinery, the shipper abnts against the said post :and elevates the free or weighted end of the auxiliary lever from o the primary lever, and relieves the latter of its weight,pthe result being that a corresponding weight or pressure is removed" from the diaphragm, and the valve closes to a greater or less extent, and diminishes the amount of steamdelivered through the valve.`

Third, these improvements consist in combini 1 ing, with a valve of thecharacter hereinbefore named, a safety-valve which shall blowoff at v any given pressure, by this means protecting the diaphragm and other parts of the valve from injury by overpressure'of steam, which, otherwise, might often occur. In the present instance, I carry out this feature of my imi provements by creating a passage or bore through the upper portion ofthe valve-case, within which bore I create a valve-seat and dispose a valve, which is to be weighted to the` desired extent, varying `with circumstances. Fourth, these improvements consist in formf ing, in one side of the water-well, an orifice, and combining with this orilice a pressuregage to denote the pressureupon the parts; this orifice serving, further, as a passage-way,

whereby a rod or pin may be inserted withinahole in the valve-stem, and the latter 11etained firmly in place and locked against rotation, while removal or inspection of the" dia phragm,in case of accident, takes place. lifth,`

these' improvements consist in the peculiar mode of attaching the secondary `lever to the well-tube in instances where a` compound lever is used, the same consisting in applying to the well-tube a split ring or clasp, which incloses i it, the said lever being pivoted to this clasp, y while the lower or primaryportion of the le-` ver is in turn pivoted to the lower cap-plate or head of the well-tube, which is secured in,

place by a number of screws equidistant from each other, the whole being arranged as hereinafter explained, by which the position of the levers, with respect to the ports of the valve, may be varied to suit circumstances.

Several minor points inv my improvements will be duly explained hereafter'.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in 'Figure l, a vertical section of a valve containing my improvements, while Fig. 2 represents a section of a modified form of the valve-governing levers.

In these drawings, A represents the case of my valve, which, in general form, resembles an ordinary globe-valve, the inlet-port of such case being Yshown at B, and its eduction or discharge port at C. Within the center of the case A is cast a pocket or hollow boss, D, pierced at top and bottom with valve-ports lil and F, of equal area, while playing within these ports, and opening or closing the same, is a vertical valve, G, which is balanced to the pressure of steam, in order that the pulsations 0f the elastic diaphragm hereinafter alluded to, which supports the valve, may readily and surely raise or lower the valve. rEhe arrangement of the pocket D, ports E and F, and valve G with the ease A is of prior inven tion or use, and contains nothing original with myself.

The well-tube ofthe instrument, which the ease A surmounts, is shown at H as a vertical pipe, which usually isabout full of condensewater, the lower mouth or diaphragm-chamber A1 of this tube being closed by an elastic diaphragm, I, of suitable material, such diaphragm being confined in position by an annular cap plate or ring, J, which is screwed to the bottom of the tube by a series of screws, K K, &c., placed eq nidistant from one another, in order that the plate, and the lever carried by it, may be moved upon the tube a distance equal to the space between two or more screws. The valve-rod depends vertically from the valve G, as shown at K in the drawings, and is confined at its lower end to the elastic horizontal diaphragm I, before named, and passes through a horizontal shelf, L, or bridge, or its equivalent, which closes the lower part of the well H, and shuts off, to a great extent, eemmunieation between such well and the diaphragm-chamber A1, the said shelf serving as a guide to insure a correct vertical position of the valve and stem, and prevent any side motion or unsteadiness of the same, whereby a perfectly free movement is obtained, and wear upon the posts obviated.

I have said that the shelf L closes to a great extent communication between the well H and diaphragmehamber A1. The object of this is to prevent sudden concussions, changes, or thrusts of the back-pressure steam from acting instantly upon the diaphragm, while in order that the pressure of the steam shall act to the necessary ,degree upon the diaphragm,

- be changed for any reason. lplying the lever Y constitutes theiifth portion .l

by meansof theinterposed body of water Y which stands upon such diaphragm, I create in the shelf one or more small orifices, M, of a size suflieient to obtain the desired result.

It will thus be seen that the shelf, or its equivalent, performs two important officesthat of breaking or retarding the back pressure of steam and proteetin g the diaphragm, and of constituting a guide for the valve-stem. In lieu of the orifice M in the shelf L, an equivalent would be to employ a pipe leading from the well above such shelf, and entering' the diaphragm chamber below said shelf, such pipe having a proper valve.

N in the accompanying drawing represents a horizontal lever, whose fulcrum O is a pendent stud, P, hanging from the cap-plate J, before named, the base of the lever being pivoted to the upper part of a forked swivel, Q, whose lower end is in turn pivoted to and within a furcated thimble, R, the upper end of such thimble inclosing a tenon, S, depending from the lower nut T, which confines the valvestem to the diaphragm, apin, U, being passed through the thimble and stud to confine them together.

rlhis mode of uniting' the lever to the diaphragm constitutes one of the details' of my improvements, and is a very useful one, as it allows the lever to exert a draft upon the valve at all times in an axial line with such valve and its rod, while it further has the merit of enabling the lever to be immediately disconnected from the valve stem or diaphragm, when it becomes necessary to remove or inspect the latter. l

The lever N is provided with a sliding weight, V, and is connected by an adjustable rod, W, with a second lever, Y, disposed above' it, and provided with a sliding weight, A2, this second lever being pivoted at its base to a band or split ring, Z, which clasps or eneompasses the well-tube H, and is clamped tightly thereto by a screw which passes through its ends, this mode vof applying the'lever Y tothe tube H enabling it to be moved in position thereon, according as the lever N may be turned upon the said tube, thus allowing the two levers at all times to be in alignment with each other, should their common position This mode of apof these improvements.

B in the drawings represents an additional lever, disposed above the lever Y, and pivoted at its base or head, G', to the base of the said lever Y, the lever B being provided with a sliding weight, D', which rests upon the lever Y, the base or head C of the lever B kbeing prolonged upward into the arm E', as

shown in Fig. l of the drawings, this standard rising to such a height as to be readily struck by the shipper of the machine to which the valve is applied.

' This valve will be found of service in many localities, but one especial use to which I intend putting it is in connection with theslashers or dressing-machines of cotton-mills and the driers of print-mills.

Upon shipping the beltin stopping the machine, the shipper strikes against the arm E' and tilts it inward toward the well-tube, the lever B' and its weight D' being, by the act, lifted from off the lever Y. The weight of the lever B' and its weight D' being removed from the lever Y, and consequently from the lever N, the back'pressure of steam, acting upon the water above the diaphragm, depresses the latter and the valve, and closes the latter to Aa greater or less degree, and, as a consequence, shuts off or diminishes the amount of steam delivered through the valve. Upon reversing the shipper, the lever B' and its weight drop upon the lever Y, and the latter, with the lever N, is depressed, the result being that the valve rises and admits of passage of a greater Aamount of steam. The employment of the auxiliary lever B' economizes, to a great extent, the consumption of steam, and relieves the diaphragm from the sudden thrust which would otherwise ensue from the sudden stoppage of p the machinery.

The lever Y may be dispensed with, and the lever B' applied to the lower lever N, as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe accompanying drawings; and still further modifications may be made in the mode of employing the auxiliary lever B' without departing from the spirit of the second portion of these improvements, which embraces the said lever B', or its equivalent, in combination with the device which governs the movements of the valve.

In carrying out the third portion of these improvements, I erect upon the top of the valve-case A an upright hollow extension or cap, F', formed with a blow-off port, G', and below such blow-oftI with a valve seat, H, which is closed by a drop-valve, I', the stem M' of which rises through the top of the cap F', and is provided with a Weight or series of weights, which are to be graduated to correspond to the pressure oi steam required. The

would otherwise nd its way through the bearings of the stem. i

By the employment of the safety-valve I', I am enabled to govern the pressure of the steam passing through the valve, and also to obviate bursting or danger to the valve or'its d1aphragm 5 and in this safety-valve, in combination with the valve proper and its adj uncts, will be seen the third portion of these improvements. y t

In carrying out the fourth portion of these improvements, I create, in any convenient part of the well-tube H, an orifice, N', as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, to which I intend applyin g a pressure-gage, for reasons which will t be at once obvious; while, as a still further element of this portion of my invention, I bore in the valve-stem K a horizontal hole, O', to coi incide with the orifice N. YVhen it becomes desirable to inspect, repair, or remove the diaphragm I, a pin is to be passed into the orifice N and the hole O' ,which prevents rotation of the valve-stem, and confines it securely in one position while the lower nutTis being unscrewed and the diaphragm removed.

The length of the well-tube H should be such i valve I', for protecting the diaphragm against excesses and sudden changes in steam-press i y ure, as herein shown `and set forth.

2. rlhe combination, `with the elastic diaphragm and weighted-levermechanism connected and operating with the same, as described, of the lever B' E', arranged andoperating, in connection withsaid main-lever mechanism, in the manner and for the purposes shown and set forth.

3. In combination, the case H, provided withv orifice N', and the valve-stem K, provided with hole O', arranged to operate substantially as shown and described.

4. The diaphragm I and lever N, in combination with lever Y, clasp Z, and lever B E', tll constructed substantially as shown and set orth.

Witnesses: JOSEPH E. WATTS.

FREDERICK` CURTIS, W. E. BOARDMAN. 

